India Europe green partnership - an opportunity for a better world

India and Europe share many common environmental challenges and policies. They are both committed to a deeper strategic partnership, including in the area of green transformation given that climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution have reached alarming levels in both of their locations. Moreover, Europe is one of the early movers in the transition to a green economy and India is also quickly becoming a country which leads by example on climate action. For that reason, their cooperation and collaboration on green economy, sustainable development, green finance, and circular economy have a multiplier effect in the global South. Their green partnership is a great way forward for a better world.

The idea of a green partnership between India and Europe is not new. Many leaders and experts have talked about one in the past. In fact, in March the year 2017, European Council President Donald Tusk and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the idea at a joint press conference addressing the media after their talks.

For both countries, it is a timely opportunity to become world leaders in contributing to a better world for all where everyone will benefit from the sustainable resources as well as protect the remaining ones for the use of the generations ahead.

A partnership between India and Europe has the potential to boost climate action. It means to enable sustainable growth in a business-friendly way – without compromising on environmental standards and without ignoring the need to combat poverty.

It is no secret that India is dedicated to the fight against climate change and so Europe in its turn has been at the forefront of the global fight against climate change for many years. With this, there are many lessons that India can draw from European experiences, as Europe has been quite successful in reconciling economic prosperity with sustainability.

Take for instance India's demand for energy. While coal is still an essential part of India's energy mix, we also see a growing interest in renewable energies. While European countries like Germany have been promoting solar power for years, this technology is now also becoming available on a large scale in India as well as other forms of renewable energy like wind or hydro power. These technologies have become competitive and there are many commercial opportunities to be explored by Indian and European companies. At the same time it would be good to look at how these new sources of energy can be integrated into India's existing energy grid which is dominated by coal so far.

The possibilities for collaboration are almost infinite - from smart cities, waste management, water management, waste water treatment, renewable energies, electric vehicles - all these topics could dramatically improve quality of life and fight climate change at the same time According to the Observer Research Foundation (2021), following the 15th India-EU Summit on 15 July 2020, the political leadership released a joint “Roadmap to 2025” for strengthening the strategic partnership including the preparation of a new work programme. Specifically, the leaders suggested a focus on mobilizing finance and improving the market and investment environment with a view to enhancing sustainable energy access and resilience.

The outcomes of the dialogue are the following: 

Net zero is net positive: The discussion about the ambition level can instead be considered a discussion about the speed of the required economic transformation in the EU and in India, including the feasibility (such as available technology, available land, social economic impacts) and the costs and required finance and technologies.

Monitoring and Data: It was considered that for effective climate policies, using market mechanisms and increased investments, good data and monitoring will be crucial. 

Technology: There was strong interest both in the EU and India on technology development and deployment, co-development and more generally, breaking down the debate on ‘technology development’ (e.g. R&D cooperation), deployment (e.g. technology cooperation on renewables or (flexible) nuclear), transport technologies or regulatory frameworks fit for India to drive large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies (e.g. low-carbon energy). Common approaches to standardization can also be a part of technology discussions.

Investment: Given the sheer size of required finance, public finance will only cover a fraction of the requirements for net-zero. The cooperation could therefore focus more on how to mobilize more investments and to ensure that cheaper finance goes to cleaner technologies. Regulatory frameworks to attract project capital or sustainable finance, including a taxonomy to avoid greenwashing, were identified as crucial areas for further cooperation.

Market mechanisms: While being a sensitive topic, it is still necessary to examine how cooperation and exchange of experiences can be increased in the area of European and Indian carbon markets, taking into account that in India there are already market mechanisms linked to energy efficiency and the use of fossil fuels. Incipient market mechanisms can also help usher in improved data collection on emissions and industrial sites, even in the absence of carbon constraints.

The objective of the summit is to facilitate people-to-people contact and establish a direct link between Europe and India in the field of environment and sustainable development, to be done by means of exchange of information, experiences, best practices, know-how and technology and this has been identified as a key area of cooperation between India and Europe.

With regard to climate change, it is great to note that both India and Europe are committed to reducing emissions. Everyone is aware that there are two major challenges before us - climate change and sustainable development. 

The India - Europe vision on these issues is very clear - they want long-term global solutions for global concerns. Therefore, this partnership will help both continents take action against climate change.

By 2050, the world could experience a 4 degrees temperature rise. We talk about climate change and the need to tackle it but even as we talk, our actions have not matched our words. It is not an issue just for one country or one continent but an issue that has to be tackled by all countries and continents.

None of us can achieve our goals alone: we need global cooperation. We have to join forces to create new business opportunities and make growth more sustainable. What we do today will affect not just our own economies but also those of future generations. Thus, the European Union with India's strong support has taken a number of initiatives and it set a good example for other countries or collective regions to take the same actions for the betterment or common good.

References:

Observer Research Foundation (2021), India-EU climate relations: Outcomes and recommendations from the ORF & CEPS India-EU Track 1.5 Dialogue on Climate Action and Ambition. Retrieved on May 23, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.orfonline.org/rese...